this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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Oil prices continued their free fall on Friday as the market absorbed a double whammy of shocks after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs and the Opec+ alliance decided to massively increase crude production.

The price of Brent, the international benchmark, has dropped more than 11 percent in two days, plunging from $74 per barrel at the beginning of this week to about $66 per barrel. The drop has put crude prices at their lowest levels since 2021.

The sell-off shows how Trump’s trade war is already unleashing secondary effects on the Middle East.

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[–] FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago

Hopefully the increase in drilling leads to Mother Earth washing us all away in a massive flood. Poke enough and it might poke back..

[–] exonode@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

That's gonna really piss off Russia.

[–] DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Cool. Lower prices at the pump in 5... 4... 3......

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 day ago

.....4.....5....6.....7.....8.....

[–] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 3 points 23 hours ago (1 children)
[–] DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 4 points 23 hours ago

This ain't my first rodeo, Chief.

[–] TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 day ago

Trumpers gonna be like "See daddy knows best cause oil is cheaper" eye roll

[–] lumony 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Good!

Artificial scarcity was always dumb as fuck.

Sad watching useful idiots living vicariously through business leaders.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It was useful against global warming

[–] qprimed@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

still hopeful that, if trumps idiocy does not directly blow us all to hell, an economic downturn may give us another COVID style environmental breather. silver linings and all that.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 43 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I wouldn't really call it a crumble. It was this low this past March around the same time and it dropped this low in September last year. Also, oil is exempt from the tariffs, but the people using the oil is probably going to lower too. I think this is a weird headline.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?op=1

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/04/trump-exempts-big-oil-donors-from-tariffs

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The drop should dampen some of the inflationary effects of the tariffs. MBS is essentially helping Trump in this one.

[–] arotrios@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Agreed - actually came here to say this. The Saudis have been pretty blatant in how they time their pricing manipulation to American politics and economic trends. Like how oil prices stayed high even after COVID killed demand while Biden was in office, or how they flooded the market to try and kill the American fracking industry after Trump was elected the first time.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Trump may have asked for this. I guess we'll know how the relationship is going if they reduce production in the future. 😂

[–] qprimed@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

good observation. wonder how texas and louisiana "drill baby drillers" are doin' right now...

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Depleting middle east oil reserves faster so US oil ultimately gains value in the long term

[–] GaMEChld@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We can't even refine our own oil. We import sweet crude to our refineries and export sour crude to international refineries.

[–] qprimed@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

based on proven reserves it looks like venezuela is gonna get canada'd harder than usual.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Hey buddy, we're not annexed yet!

[–] qprimed@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

elbows up, my friend. elbows up!

[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

Ah yes, oil rich country.
What a coincidence they have all these coup attempts there.

[–] lumony 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Venezuela has the "dirtiest oil in the world."

[–] qprimed@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

we seem to like it dirty.

[...]our refineries were designed to process oil coming from Mexico and Venezuela. “And a lot of that tends to be relatively heavy and relatively high in sulfur,”

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago
[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 3 points 1 day ago

Everything requiring energy or fuel to produce or transport should get cheaper

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Wow, OPEC might actually be falling apart, going by that.

[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 days ago

Maybe they are trying to save Trump and salvage the world economy line from going through the floor. Because another 2008 would be very bad for Gulf business.